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UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


0EC18 

DEC  18 


1936 


lr»>C 


JUL  1  9 1988 
APR  17  1*W 
MQ3 


M 


JUNO  1  1<92 


L161— O-1096 


miVERSmr  OF  ILLINOIS  LIBRARY 
AUG  16  1922 


NEW  GUINEA  MASKS 


BY 


ALBERT  B.  LEWIS 
Assistant  Curator  of  Melanesian  Ethnology 

mn**rr»U,;!mLlm 
F&  23  tu. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 

CHICAGO 
1922 


tf  \UA^ 


I**** 


RELIGIOUS  PROCESSION  WITH  FEATHER  MASKS  LEAVING  THE  SACRED 
ENCLOSURE  AT  AWAR,  NEW  GUINEA. 


THE  JOSEPH  N.  FIELD  HALL 


PREFACE 


There  are  few  places,  if  any,  less  affected  by  mod- 
ern civilization  than  certain  islands  of  the  South  Seas, 
especially  New  Guinea.  In  the  interior  of  this  large 
island  the  inhabitants  are  still  living  in  the  stone  age 
as  truly  as  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Europe  did  in 
neolithic  times.  Civilization,  however,  is  rapidly  pene- 
trating this  region.  On  the  coasts  of  New  Guinea, 
and  in  the  neighboring  islands,  the  old  life  is  passing 
away — in  many  places  has  already  done  so — and  little 
or  nothing  now  remains  to  tell  the  tale,  unless  it  be  in 
the  memory  of  the  older  generation. 

In  1909  the  Museum  was  enabled  under  the  pa- 
tronage of  Mr.  Joseph  N.  Field,  to  extend  its  work  into 
the  South  Pacific  Islands.  An  expedition,  known  as 
the  Joseph  N.  Field  South  Pacific  Expedition,  under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  Albert  B.  Lewis,  spent  four  years, 
1909-13,  in  the  South  Pacific,  chiefly  in  the  following 
Melanesian  Islands: — Fiji,  the  New  Hebrides,  New 
Caledonia,  the  Solomon  Islands,  New  Britain,  New  Ire- 
land, New  Hanover,  St.  Matthias,  the  Admiralty 
Islands,  and  New  Guinea.  The  object  of  the  expedi- 
tion was  to  obtain  whatever  possible,  both  of  collec- 
tions and  information,  that  would  help  to  illustrate  the 
life,  activities,  and  beliefs  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
region,  as  they  had  been  when  uninfluenced  by  Euro- 
pean culture.  The  most  important  result  of  the  Joseph 
N.  Field  Expedition  is  a  collection  of  more  than  ten 
thousand  specimens.  In  addition  to  these  the  Museum 
was  also  able  through  Mr.  Field  to  acquire  some  fine 
old  collections  supplementing  those  obtained  in  the 
field.    Representative  exhibits  from  the  different  Mela- 

[i] 


2  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

nesian  Islands,  comprising  chiefly  specimens  from  these 
collections,  but  also  including  many  from  other  sources, 
have  been  installed  in  the  Joseph  N.  Field  Hall.  The 
remainder  have  been  placed  where  they  can  be  seen 
and  consulted,  when  necessary. 

To  supplement  the  exhibits,  it  is  the  purpose  to 
publish  short  leaflets  giving  illustrations  end  explana- 
tions of  the  use  of  certain  objects  or  groups  of  objects. 
No  endeavor  will  be  made  to  treat  the  subject  ex- 
haustively, but  by  means  of  illustrations  and  descrip- 
tions the  reader  will  be  enabled  to  picture  to  himself 
more  vividly  and  realistically  the  life  of  these  people. 
The  present  leaflet  dealing  with  New  Guinea  masks  is 
the  first  instalment  of  this  series. 

B.  Laufeb. 


[2] 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ANTHROPOLOGY 
Chicago,  1922 

Leaflet  Number  4 

New  Guinea  Masks 

(  Joseph  N.  Field  Hall,  Cases  13,  42,  47,  85,  88 ) 

The  use  of  masks  of  different  kinds,  while  not 
universal,  is  found  in  certain  parts  of  New  Guinea, 
especially  the  central  portion,  both  north  and  south. 
The  masks  are  used  in  different  ways  and  for  different 
purposes.  Sometimes  their  use  is  for  purely  comic  or 
humorous  representations  or  in  imitative  dances,  but 
usually  they  have  more  or  less  of  a  mysterious  or 
religious  significance,  in  that  they  are  supposed  to 
represent  spirits  or  supernatural  beings,  who  for  one 
reason  or  another  are  paying  a  visit  to  their  friends 
or  worshipers. 

Not  infrequently  the  use  of  masked  figures  is 
associated  with  secret  societies,  the  members  of  which 
are  in  this  manner  enabled  to  impose  upon  the  rest  of 
the  people  for  their  own  selfish  interests.  In  such  cases 
the  supernatural  element  is  invoked,  and  the  acts  of 
the  maskers  are  supposed  to  be  sanctioned  by  the 
spirits.  Even  if  there  is  no  definitely  organized  secret 
society,  there  is  at  least  a  certain  group  who  are  on  the 
inside,  so  to  speak,  and  who  are  the  only  ones  allowed 
within  the  enclosures  where  the  masks  are  made  and 
kept,  and  where  the  preparation  for  the  appearance  of 
the  maskers  takes  place.  Very  frequently  this  includes 
most  of  the  adult  male  population. 

Often  several  types  of  masks  may  be  found  among 
the  same  people.  In  certain  places  on  the  Papuan  Gulf, 
for  example,  there  are  at  least  three  types,  whose 
meaning  is  entirely  different.  In  one  case  they  are 
used  for  amusement,  and  are  not  in  any  way  secret, 

[3] 


4  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

being  usually  made  in  imitation  of  some  animal 
or  material  object.  Another  quite  different  type  of 
mask  is  worn  by  the  boys,  whenever  they  appear  in 
public,  during  the  period  in  which  they  are  being 
initiated  into  manhood.  This  period  lasts  for  several 
months,  and  during  that  time  they  must  remain  within 
a  special  house  built  for  this  purpose,  being  allowed  to 
go  out  only  when  they  are  covered  and  concealed,  with 
the  exception  of  their  legs  and  feet,  by  these  masks.  A 
third  type  of  mask  appears  only  on  the  occasion  of 
certain  special  ceremonies,  and  represents  certain 
spirits  or  deities  supposed  to  be  present  in  connection 
with  these  ceremonies.  In  this  region  all  the  masks 
are  made  of  a  framework  of  split  bamboo  covered  with 
painted  bark-cloth  similar  to  the  South  Sea  Island 
tapa,  though  not  so  well  made.  The  three  types,  while 
showing  great  variation  within  the  type,  are  still  quite 
characteristic,  so  any  masked  figure  could  be  instantly 
placed  in  the  group  to  which  it  belonged. 

In  other  districts  the  masks  are  quite  different,  and 
made  in  a  different  way,  though  there  is  nearly  always 
a  framework  of  split  bamboo  or  rattan.  Sometimes  a 
grotesque  head  and  face  is  tightly  woven  of  rattan. 
This  may  or  may  not  be  painted,  or  covered  with  mud 
or  clay.  On  the  north  coast  over  a  considerable  area, 
the  face  is  represented  by  a  wooden  carving.  This 
may  be  a  close  imitation  of  the  human  features,  or  a 
grotesque  caricature  of  the  same.  This  mask  proper 
is  usually  fastened  to  the  framework  which  covers  the 
head  so  the  bearer  can  look  through  the  eye-holes. 
This  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  large  feather  masks, 
where  the  bamboo  frame  is  very  high  and  covered  with 
feathers.  This  is  probably  the  most  striking  of  all  New 
Guinea  types  of  masks,  and  may  be  regarded  as  a 
combination  of  the  mask  with  the  ornamental  feather 
head-dresses  used  in  dances,  which  are  often  quite 
large  and  elaborate,  and  also  vary  greatly  in  different 

[4] 


£ 
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£> 


MASK  WORN  IN  PUBLIC  BY  BOY  DURING  INITIATION  PERIOD, 
PAPUAN  GULF,  NEW  GUINEA. 


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%,„ 


MASKS  REPRESENTING  SPIRITS  USED  ONLY  IN  CONNECTION  WITH 
SPECIAL  CEREMONIES,  PAPUAN  GULF,  NEW  GUINEA. 


- 


«wm  siomm  jo  juit 


New  Guinea  Masks  5 

regions.  The  carved  face  varies  considerably  from 
district  to  district,  some  being  characterized  by  huge 
curved  noses,  others  by  long  pointed  ones,  etc.  The 
framework  to  which  the  face  is  fastened  and  the 
material  with  which  the  frame  is  covered  also  vary, 
feathers  being  used  in  only  a  limited  district.  Bark, 
leaves,  grass  and  fiber  coverings  are  also  used.  Often 
the  leaves  are  fresh,  so  it  is  impossible  to  preserve  the 
mask  as  a  whole;  while  usually  a  certain  number  of 
fresh  leaves,  and  often  flowers,  are  added. 

The  feather  masks  shown  in  the  frontispiece  are 
among  the  largest,  if  not  the  largest,  known  to  occur  in 
New  Guinea.  These  masks  represent  local  deities,  who 
visit  the  village  on  the  occasion  of  certain  special 
ceremonies.  There  is  less  secrecy  connected  with  them 
than  with  most  masks  of  this  type.  I  had  the 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  preparation  of  these  masks, 
and  witnessing  part  of  the  ceremonies.  There  was  no 
objection  whatever  to  my  entering  the  enclosure  where 
the  masks  were  made,  or  witnessing  any  of  the 
proceedings,  and  I  could  doubtless  have  seen  everything 
that  took  place  if  I  had  stayed  in  the  village  during  the 
whole  period.  There  were  many  visitors  from  neigh- 
boring villages,  who  viewed  the  performance  in  much 
the  same  way  that  the  onlookers  would  view  a  modern 
religious  procession  in  Rome,  for  example. 

The  village  where  this  took  place  is  named  Awar, 
and  is  one  of  four  or  five  small  neighboring  villages,  all 
belonging  to  the  same  tribe  or  linguistic  group,  the 
total  number  of  individuals  probably  not  exceeding  one 
thousand.  The  villages  are  situated  on  or  near  Hansa 
Bay,  a  few  miles  west  of  Potsdam  Harbor,  on  the  north 
coast  of  New  Guinea.  The  ceremony  occurs  about  once 
a  year,  being  held  in  the  different  villages  in  rotation, 
but  the  people  of  all  the  villages  attend  each  ceremony. 
The  preparation  of  the  masks  takes  several  months; 
for,  while  the  feathers  and  ornaments  are  kept  from 

[5] 


6  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

year  to  year,  a  new  framework  has  to  be  made,  and 
each  feather  carefully  fastened  in  place. 

First  a  peek-proof  enclosure  is  made  in  front  of 
and  surrounding  one  of  the  large  men's  houses,  as 
there  is  no  special  house  for  this  purpose.  The  en- 
closing fence  is  about  as  high  as  the  masks,  and  is 
made  of  palm  or  other  leaves.  Within  this  enclosure, 
in  the  shade  of  the  large  projecting  front  of  the  house, 
the  frame  is  constructed,  and  most  of  the  feathers  put 
in  place,  but  for  finishing  touches  the  masks  are  care- 
fully set  up  on  supports  under  a  special  high  shed, 
made  for  the  purpose. 

Of  course,  no  important  affair  ever  takes  place  in 
New  Guinea  without  a  big  feast,  and  for  a  week  or  two 
before  the  performance  everybody  is  busy  collecting 
provisions.  In  this  all  the  villages  unite,  though  the 
main  work  falls  on  the  entertaining  village.  Several 
days  are  spent  in  washing  out  sago,  one  or  two  in  a 
big  fishing  expedition  along  the  beach  or  in  the  lagoons. 
Then  there  is  a  big  pig-hunt,  and  often  a  voyage  to 
Menam  or  some  other  place  to  buy  pigs  and  other  pro- 
visions. 

The  village  of  A  war,  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be 
held,  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  houses  scattered  at 
intervals  along  and  on  both  sides  of  a  single  street, 
which  in  fact  is  nothing  but  a  native  path  that  has 
been  widened  and  cleared  of  vegetation  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  houses.  Shortly  before  the  ceremony, 
frames  are  erected  near  the  houses  along  the  street, 
and  on  these  all  kinds  of  food  materials  are  placed,  so 
that  everyone  may  see  what  an  abundance  of  food  is 
supplied  for  the  feast.  This  food  consists  chiefly  of 
great  bowls  of  taro  and  yams,  packets  of  sago  done  up 
in  leaves  and  ornamented  with  leaf  streamers,  and 
even  pigs  securely  bound  and  fastened  to  poles,  these 
being  supported  on  forked  stakes.  Here  the  things 
remain,  pigs  and  all,  till  needed,  which  may  be  for 

[6] 


o  < 

GO    UJ 

Q    ? 

O   => 

o  o 

iz 


6  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

year  to  year,  a  new  framework  has  to  be  made,  and 
each  feather  carefully  fastened  in  place. 

First  a  peek-proof  enclosure  is  made  in  front  of 
and  surrounding  one  of  the  large  men's  houses,  as 
there  is  no  special  house  for  this  purpose.  The  en- 
closing fence  is  about  as  high  as  the  masks,  and  is 
made  of  palm  or  other  leaves.  Within  this  enclosure, 
in  the  shade  of  the  large  projecting  front  of  the  house, 
the  frame  is  constructed,  and  most  of  the  feathers  put 
in  place,  but  for  finishing  touches  the  masks  are  care- 
fully set  up  on  supports  under  a  special  high  shed, 
made  for  the  purpose. 

Of  course,  no  important  affair  ever  takes  place  in 
New  Guinea  without  a  big  feast,  and  for  a  week  or  two 
before  the  performance  everybody  is  busy  collecting 
provisions.  In  this  all  the  villages  unite,  though  the 
main  work  falls  on  the  entertaining  village.  Several 
days  are  spent  in  washing  out  sago,  one  or  two  in  a 
big  fishing  expedition  along  the  beach  or  in  the  lagoons. 
Then  there  is  a  big  pig-hunt,  and  often  a  voyage  to 
Menam  or  some  other  place  to  buy  pigs  and  other  pro- 
visions. 

The  village  of  Awar,  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be 
held,  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  houses  scattered  at 
intervals  along  and  on  both  sides  of  a  single  street, 
which  in  fact  is  nothing  but  a  native  path  that  has 
been  widened  and  cleared  of  vegetation  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  houses.  Shortly  before  the  ceremony, 
frames  are  erected  near  the  houses  along  the  street, 
and  on  these  all  kinds  of  food  materials  are  placed,  so 
that  everyone  may  see  what  an  abundance  of  food  is 
supplied  for  the  feast.  This  food  consists  chiefly  of 
great  bowls  of  taro  and  yams,  packets  of  sago  done  up 
in  leaves  and  ornamented  with  leaf  streamers,  and 
even  pigs  securely  bound  and  fastened  to  poles,  these 
being  supported  on  forked  stakes.  Here  the  things 
remain,  pigs  and  all,  till  needed,  which  may  be  for 

[6] 


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New  Guinea  Masks  7 

one  to  several  days,  depending  on  the  length  of  time 
the  ceremonies  and  feasting  which  goes  with  them 
continue,  which  is  usually  as  long  as  the  food  supply 
holds  out. 

The  masks  made  on  this  occasion  were  four — two 
large  ones  covered  with  feathers,  and  two  small  ones 
covered  with  leaves,  chiefly  coconut  leaves.  The  two 
smaller  ones  represented  two  females,  Kangai  and  Gi- 
mor;  and  the  two  large  ones,  their  sons,  Guembe,  the 
son  of  Kangai,  and  Korai,  the  son  of  Gimor.  These 
have  their  home  in  a  fine  house  in  the  bottom  of  a 
lagoon  not  far  away,  and  visit  the  village  at  the  time 
of  the  ceremony,  appearing  to  the  people  in  the  form 
of  these  masks. 

At  last  the  time  arrived  when  the  spirits  were  to 
appear  in  the  village,  and  a  great  crowd  of  people, 
young  and  old,  assembled  along  the  street  near  the  en- 
closure. For  some  time  the  big  drums  or  wooden 
gongs,  as  well  as  shell  trumpets  and  hand-drums, 
could  be  heard  within,  when  suddenly  a  portion  of  the 
leafy  fence  was  thrown  to  one  side,  and  the  masks  and 
attendants  or  dancers  who  made  up  the  procession 
were  seen  advancing  slowly  through  the  opening.  In 
front  were  four  men  in  their  finest  ornaments,  then  a 
large  mask,  followed  by  three  more  men;  then  the 
second  large  mask  attended  in  a  similar  way,  and  last, 
the  two  small  masks  side  by  side.  The  men  carried 
kundus  ("hand-drums")  or  beat  two  coconut  shells  to- 
gether to  mark  the  rhythm  of  the  dance,  which  was  a 
slow  4/4  movement.  First,  one  foot  is  advanced  slight- 
ly, usually  considerably  to  one  side,  then  the  other  taps 
the  ground  alongside,  then  is  stamped  down  firmly, 
then  a  rest;  after  which  the  movement  is  repeated 
with  the  other  foot,  and  so  on.  Meanwhile  everybody 
sings,  including  the  audience.  When  asked  what  it 
meant,  they  declared  it  was  merely  a  "sing-sing,"  and 
nobody  knew  what  the  meaning  was.    Those  in  front 

[7] 


8  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

would  often  turn  around  and  face  the  masks.  During 
the  singing  of  what  might  be  called  a  stanza  there  was 
very  little  forward  movement.  After  this  they  would 
advance  a  little,  sing  another  stanza,  and  so  on,  thus 
slowly  proceeding  from  one  end  of  the  village  to  the 
other,  and  back  to  the  enclosure.  As  soon  as  the  pro- 
cession was  inside,  the  opening  was  closed.  Then  the 
masks  were  removed  from  the  bearers  and  carefully 
placed  under  their  sheds.  The  other  performers  re- 
moved their  special  ornaments,  and  all  retired  for  a 
rest  till  meal  time.  The  whole  performance  lasted 
from  one  to  two  hours,  and  was  repeated  twice  a  day, 
weather  permitting,  in  the  early  forenoon  and  late 
afternoon,  as  long  as  the  spirits  remained  in  the  vil- 
lage (while  the  food  supply  held  out). 

The  number  of  dancers  and  attendants  varied  from 
time  to  time,  and  sometimes  women  took  part  in  the 
procession.  At  some  time  during  the  performance 
there  was  placed  in  front  of  each  mask  one  of  the 
bound  hogs  and  great  numbers  of  bundles  of  taro, 
yams,  and  other  food.  After  a  short  ceremony,  this 
was  removed  and  taken  away  to  be  cooked  and  eaten, 
though  not  everything  that  was  eaten  was  offered  in 
this  way. 

The  smaller  masks  did  not  always  appear  in  the 
procession,  nor  did  they  seem  to  have  any  special 
honor,  as  during  the  performance  the  women  would 
often  talk  to  them,  and  even  slapped  them  in  the  face. 
Between  the  main  performances  one  or  both  of  the 
small  masks  would  come  out  with  sticks  and  run 
around  the  village.  All  the  young  men  and  boys  took 
to  their  heels,  and  if  one  got  anywhere  nearby,  a  stick 
was  thrown  at  him. 

During  one  performance  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
second  day,  which  I  saw,  a  woman  dancer  indulged 
in  a  special  fit  of  scolding,  or  at  least  appeared 
to  do  so,  and  was  answered  by  two  old  men  who 

[8] 


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New  Guinea  Masks  9 

were  among  the  spectators.  This  continued  for  ten 
minutes  or  more.  The  woman  would  come  out  and 
talk  excitedly  for  some  time,  stamping  the  ground 
with  her  foot  and  swinging  her  arms,  and  then  the 
men,  one  or  both,  would  answer,  running  around  the 
dancers  in  an  excited  manner.  I  was  told  the  woman 
was  scolding  the  men  for  killing  so  many  pigs  and 
using  up  so  much  taro.  She  said  they  had  already 
had  enough,  and  should  not  kill  any  more  pigs.  Short- 
ly after  a  man  came  with  a  bunch  of  bananas  and 
made  an  excited  speech  while  he  ran  around  the  pro- 
cession and  beat  the  bunch  on  the  ground,  scattering 
the  bananas  in  all  directions.  This  was  apparently  an 
offering  to  the  masks. 

The  ceremonies  closed  on  the  evening  of  the  fifth 
day.  After  a  short  performance  about  3:30  to  4:30 
p.  m.,  the  masks  returned  to  the  enclosure.  Then  all 
the  women  and  children  disappeared  from  the  village. 
After  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  the  shell  trumpets  were 
heard  giving  a  peculiar  wailing  sound,  and  the  pro- 
cession again  came  out  and  proceeded  with  trumpets 
to  the  end  of  the  village.  Here  they  stopped,  and  the 
trumpets  proceeded  on  slowly  down  to  the  lagoon. 
Meanwhile,  a  number  of  men  with  spears  took  their 
places  near  the  masks,  and  at  a  certain  signal  the 
spears  were  thrown  into  the  masks  which  were  then 
thrown  down  ("killing  the  masks,"  so  they  said). 
The  men  declined  to  give  any  further  information. 
The  trumpets  gradually  got  weaker,  to  make  the 
women  and  children  think  the  tamburans  ("spirits") 
were  going  back  to  their  house  in  the  lagoon,  so  my  in- 
terpreter said.  The  masks  were  then  immediately  dis- 
mantled, and  the  feathers  and  ornaments  put  away 
for  future  use.  The  frame  was  destroyed,  so  that 
no  sign  of  the  masks  remained  anywhere  to  be  seen. 
I  left  before  this  was  quite  completed,  and,  as  I  passed 
the  enclosure,  there  was  still  one  man  blowing  away 
on  a  shell  trumpet.  No  woman  or  child  was  to  be  seen 
anywhere  near  the  village. 

Ar.i-.ERT  B.  Lewis. 

[9] 


